Knititude

Dayflower Lace is done!

(Cross-posted from the CAL).

Yes, there were many detours along the way, but finally I have a version of Dayflower Lace that I can live with. (In fact, I've worn it in public a couple of times already.) The question of how to decrease the stitches that I had added for bust shaping was finally most easily resolved by simultaneously decreasing and binding off straight across the top, and then (not being particularly fond of strapless garments) I picked up stitches for shoulder straps. Once I had that idea, making the straps from the Dayflower Lace seemed to follow naturally. I'm quite pleased with the way the shoulder straps cover my bra straps, and in general, the lace is not see-through enough to require any underlayer.

Finally, I did re-knit the underbust area incorporating more decreases, with the result that this section sits close enough to the body without the tie-- but I still like the look of the tie (plus, what would I do with all of those eyelet holes without it?).  In addition, I think tying the tie fairly snugly has the effect of supporting some of the weight of the top, keeping it from stretching the lace straps too much.

I hope to have the pattern written up in a wide range of sizes and available for purchase within the next couple of weeks. I could even imagine lengthening the lace portion and turning this into an empire-waisted dress....

Back in the U.S., um, A.

Apologies to any Beatles fans out there.  Anyway, we are Stateside for the summer; I can already see that this entire Italy experience will be fraught with mixed feelings--glad to be back/sorry to be leaving, glad to see old friends & family/sorry to leave new friends behind, glad to be rattling away in my native English, sorry to be losing my hard-won gains in Italian a little more each day.  And sorry to have left behind what must be one of the best photo-shoot locations ever; do you think I can Photoshop myself into these rooms modeling my future knit projects?!

At least my item (is that vague enough?) for the winter IK is done and I can blog easy:  work in some loose ends, write up some long-promised patterns.  I'd also love to knit Lutea for myself this summer, but  I'm having a helluva time finding any Classic Elite Sundance.  (Anyone know where I can score some of that stuff?)  I may have to substitute a similar yarn, or--more entertainingly--a completely different weight yarn.  Whee!  (I know, I probably need a margarita or a mojito or some new shoes--my fun meter appears to be in desperate need of recalibration.)

Speaking of working in loose ends, I finally did that with my Dayflower Lace top, and even wore it in public!  Sometime in the next few days I'll post for the Create Along and cross-post here.  (Recognize the earrings?)

   

Lutea: XS and 2XL

Here are sketches of Lutea size XS and 2XL (the smallest and largest pattern sizes), drawn to scale on graph paper at 1 box to one inch, to fit bust sizes of 28-30" and 48-50", respectively.   According to the Standards & Guidelines for Knitting & Crochet, the Cross Back (shoulder to shoulder) measurements for these two sizes are 14" and 18".  As you can see, the lace shoulder sections also angle out slightly from the center, meaning that the width at the base of the lace sections must be slightly narrower than the width at the top.  We'll keep it simple and say that the shoulder sections for sizes XS and 2XL must be 13" and 17" wide at their bases, respectively.

This means that for size XS, for front or back, since the width at the bust is 16 inches, the armhole shaping must yield a decrease of 3 inches (16-13), or 1 1/2 inches on each side.  However, for size 2XL, since the width at the bust is 26 inches, the armhole shaping must yield a decrease of 9 inches (26-17), or 4 1/2 inches on each side.  Because angling the lace sections more would result in an overly sloped shoulder (since the sides of the lace section are perpendicular to the top of the shoulder), and angling them less would result in a too-narrow V-neck, AND making the shoulder section wider would make the top edge of the armhole form a shelf past the end of the shoulder--my only option was to make the armholes more deeply cut in the larger sizes.

By the way, thanks to Connie, who brought me an issue of the summer 2007 Interweave Knits, last week I was finally able to see Lutea in print!  It was my first in-person meeting of someone I met online, and it went so well that I'll have to try it again sometime.   

Buy 'em by the sack!

I didn't know they had White Castle here in Italy!!

Non sapevo che hanno Castello Bianco qui in Italia!!

I remember late-night trips to White Castle while a college student in New Jersey, many years ago...while Googling for links for this post, I found a page of White Castle's old ad slogans--click here for a chuckle. 

Mi ricordo le gite della notte a White Castle quando ero a l'universita` in New Jersey, molti anni fa....

More knitting content next post!